Soul Searching

It was a warm afternoon in Hosenka. Dark gray clouds loomed overhead threatening to rain, as one could smell it on the air. This didn't bother one individual who was running around town. He was dreased in a blue jacket with tails coming off the shoulders. A white shirt was fastened around his upper body, and skintight  covered his legs.

He was on his mission still, looking for a dear friend. And that meant he was asking questions trying to find information. He'd been to other towns, but no luck there either. So he was back in Hosenka, grilling people where he could. Of course because he was bringing it up, the story was also circulating for those that might have been listening in passing.

The story of a couple of kids who grew up together. One of them was attacked with their teacher, and the teacher died. The remaining kid ran away from home shortly afterwards. Or so the rumor mill told the story. In truth, Toma had left as an adult to find Astra, but he didn't bother to correct people unless it was causing him trouble.

"Hey, miss," Toma flagged down one particular woman. He was getting frustrated no one had answers... but he had no clues. Astra's good for nothing master was dead, and didn't leave any clues for him to follow. And why should she? He was just a burden on her student. That still stung... "I'm looking for someone. Do you have a few minutes to spare so I can ask you a few questions?"

Hosenka... It was a town of many memories. Fayte strode down the familiar streets. Memories of Master Xian Fei existed everywhere here. Each turn she took, Fayte could recall specific memories with her Master. Fayte's original dark guild of Mayonaka once called Hosenka its home. The town activity was thinner today, most likely due to the threat of rain overhead. The air rumbled quietly, yet no drops fell yet. She had not brought her umbrella with her. But Fayte thought she wouldn't mind the feel of the cool rain.

Unlike most other Shadow Heart members who were so very eager to cast their past aside, Fayte embraced it. She visited Hosenka whenever she had extended days off from guild work. Under Master Xian Fei's guidance, Fayte had transformed from a girl to a woman in Hosenka. There were memories here she never wanted to forget. Two years ago, she began calling Shadow Heart her new family and home. Yet even so, she always kept her ears open for the news in Hosenka. And so Fayte had heard the vague rumors, a terrible story of a girl and her master that were attacked. The teacher was killed, leaving the girl behind, much like Fayte and her own master.

Fayte was listlessly making her rounds when someone hailed her. She stopped. She was not exactly the kind of person a stranger enjoyed pulling over. She was tall, much taller than the small man who had hailed her. Her vacant gaze turned to him at his insistence, her silence almost suggesting that she hadn't registered the question. There was something about her, which Fayte had been told by many people, that something about her just seemed 'dangerous'. She didn't really understand, but she could tell because people seemed to avoid her. To shrink back if she looked at them. She was different than others.

He must've been truly desperate to ask her for help. That, or oblivious. But as Fayte stared at the one who had hailed her, she thought he seemed more on the desperate side. No one usually asked for her to give them time. But perhaps they should have, for appearances could be deceiving. Fayte did not mind being interrupted, not when she was just walking like this. "...What is it?" She finally asked, her voice very quiet as she tried to be gentle. Which perhaps was more unnerving when combined with her intense stare, trying to determine what kind of person he was.

Toma took a step back in surprise as he looked up. It wasn't that she scared him, but her initial look took him by surprise. Thankfully, her gaze didn't seem all that hostile, so he took a more relaxed stance after a moment. However... she wasn't talking to him. She was just staring... Had she not fully heard what he said? Or simply didn't care. It was probably the latter, seeing as how no one ever really cared one way or the other about him.

"Oh... Uh..." But then she'd spoken. Which caught Toma off guard for a moment. So she'd been listening and just waiting for him to speak. Well, he felt like a jerk now. Shrugging it off he began explaining. "A friend of mine went missing two months ago. I went to find her for dinner, and when I got to her usual hangout spot, I found only her master's dead body and the area looked like it'd been demolished in a fight."

"She's about this tall," Toma raised his hand to about how tall Astra was while he spoke. "She has black hair, a fairly average body type... She goes by the name Astra. And she's really proud of her magic. It's weird form of Make Magic. Do you know anything about her whereabouts?"

He wouldn't give up until he saw a corpse. Or some kind of evidence that she was dead. She had to be alive, out there somewhere. If this woman didn't know anything useful, he'd simply move on. Just as he'd done all day. He hadn't even eaten since breakfast while on his search.

Fayte was used to people trying to cover up unsavory details of life. While she had little worries when it came to her own history, people tended to shy away from explaining deaths. At least, those not in Shadow Heart. So the fact that Toma had mentioned he'd found someone dead registered in her mind. As did the girl he was describing. She listened carefully to the description. No one immediately came to mind. Although the story sounded vaguely familiar of one she'd heard while in Hosenka. But, she had never heard of this man mentioned before. Apparently he knew the victim personally.

"No... I haven't..." Fayte answered truthfully. Two months ago though... that was a long time to search. Casual friends would have likely given up by now. Had he been searching here this whole time? ...He was certainly trying his best, although if this method wasn't working for him... he needed to find a new means of searching. It was admirable, but a bit misguided. "Good luck to you..." She began walking away. Mentally she made a note of the description and name, and would keep her eyes out for anyone she encountered like that. She had barely taken a few steps when it started drizzling.

She finished the rest of her rounds in Hosenka, visiting all the places that held memories for her. The afternoon had long ago passed, he evening quickly approaching. With the drizzle, threat of more rain, and quickly darkening sky - few were out in the streets of Hosenka. That's when she saw him again. The same young man she'd spoken to earlier in the day. ...Was he still out here searching, even in these conditions? Instead of approaching him, Fayte ducked into a nearby ally. She knew the town well. There was a fire escape ladder here, which she took to the top of the building. ...Maybe it was because of her dark guild nature, but Fayte hated to ask questions when she could simply observe the truth. From the top of the building, Fayte could clearly see and hear the man below; watched him to see if he was indeed still searching.

Toma sighed dejectedly when Fayte said she didn't know anything. It was unfortunate, but he was stuck without answers yet again. He didn't bother to say thanks, or anything for that matter, when she left. Instead he turned and started walking a different way. He didn't care that the drizzle started, since he was so focused on finding Astra he was forgetting to take care of himself.

He spent the remainder of the day searching and asking, but it was fruitless. And now everyone was indoors to get out of the rain. He stepped into an alleyway for some form of shelter, if only for a few minutes, to try to settle his raging mind.

"Finally found you, Toma," A voice of another male rang out, and Toma looked up in alarm. In front of him was a slightly bigger man who gave Toma a not so pleasant smile. His teeth were crooked, from fights previously had. Toma remembered those fights. "How dare you show your face around here after you kidnapped Astra. That's real slick of you, to be pretending to look for her. But I see through your lies. Where is she?"

"If I knew I certainly wouldn't be here Hank," Toma shook his head slowly. Before he could say anymore, he was reeling from a punch to the face. He staggered back a couple steps, blood slowly running from his nose now. His eyes narrowed at Hank.

"I don't want your shitty excuses," Hank pressed darkly and raised his fist threateningly. "I want to know where she is!"

Toma's response was simply to scream in rage as he lunged forward. The two were now fighting, though Toma was clearly the stronger from the start. Hank landed a couple good blows when Toma charged him, But after that Toma was alll over him. Toma blocked a right hook and delivered a punch right to the solar plexus. Toma didn't stop there though, he continued his assault on the now open Hank. He punched his face several times before grabbing the other man and slamming his head into the brick wall.

"Urgh...." Hank staggered backwards away from Toma, who was breathing heavily. The man's words were slurred as he continued, clearly harboring a concussion. "I'll remember this you bastard...!"

Once Hank wandered away, Toma leaned back on the wall with a shaky breath and slid down the wall so he was sitting, leaning against it. He rested his arms on his knees, and his forhead against his arms. He did nothing to stop the nosebleed, or tend to the bruises. He just sat there shaking slightly, letting the adrenaline run through his system.

Fayte's chosen position was a good one. Out of sheer coincidence, her target chose to take shelter in the very alleyway connected to her building. She watched him from above; watched another stranger who apparently knew him become hostile. Passively she continued her observer status, even when the other man abruptly punched her target in the face. It was no concern of hers. If he could not defend himself against a single enemy, then it was his own fault.

But he could fight. No magic, just a simple fist fest. He had no concern for his own injuries, and even less for the pain he inflicted on his opponent. 'Toma' had already won. Yet still he continued to punch the other man brutally, even slamming his head against the wall. No mercy. It wasn't cruel, it was just brutal. ...She thought she could see the Shadow Heart within him. Yes, he had a clear purpose; a clear drive in a world filled with apathy and slugs. But he was going about it all wrong. He seemed like the type that would give up everything, yet did not know the resources available to him.

Fayte was not a recruiter for Shadow Heart. She had never met someone before and thought, 'maybe they would be interested in a dark guild.' But this Toma was different. Silently she watched him from above, watched him curl up and shake. What could she say to him? How could she convince him? ...No, convince wasn't right. She would merely give him the option. She would expand his narrow world of options. If he chose to take it, it would be his choice.

Her own mind made, Fayte leapt from the rooftop. She caught the scaffolding of the ladder halfway down the drop, before letting herself fall completely. Extremely close to Toma. She'd nearly dropped on his head; just a few steps back. No warning, no explanation. Abruptly, she was just there.

"You are going about this wrong," where the first words that came out of her mouth. Neither angry nor sad; a simple fact. "You will never find your Astra by continuing your search blindly. The world is a vast place, and simply wandering aimlessly by yourself will never provide to you the answers which you seek. However..." She stared at him, at the blood dripping down his untreated wounds, listening to its drip with the sound of the nearby rain. "There is another option which would increase your chances. A darker path, but one that would take you to your destination..." She would not exactly say what she was speaking of unless he was interested. It took a certain temperament to willingly plunge into darkness...

Toma looked up slightly when he heard the sound of a body catching scaffolding. However, his reaction to being landed next to was much more animated. He rolled his body to the side, coming up with his fists raised a few feet away from Fayte. However, when she started talking he relaxed slightly. Her words sent his mind racing.

It was true searching randomly and aimlessly was a fruitless venture. But what else was he to do? There was no clues to work off of. No sign of who the people were that attacked Astra and his master. No clues that he could see on the body of her master to indicate a hiding place, or that she suspected being attacked in the first place.

As she continued, any wariness left in him melted away. She was... offering to help him. Or at least show him a way. Someone... someone wanted to... His mind spun even harder now as he stared at Fayte for a long moment.

"...I don't care if the road I walk is the pitchest black," Toma said finally. There wasn't hesitation to his voice when he did finally speak. His eyes fixed on Fayte's searching for some kind of deceit there. "I just want to find Astra."

"So tell me," Toma continued from where he stood. He pulled out a piece of cloth and wiped his nose. He should at least try to look like a decent person when he was talking to someone who was trying for his sake. Or seemingly for his sake. "What is this option and what do I have to do to take it?"

So he was indeed the kind of person who would go all the way. Then Shadow Heart might really be for him. She was, secretly, pleased with his answer, even if her expression remained completely stoic while she met his gaze. He was still in control of his dream and all she was doing was giving him more tools. More than curious; he was eager to learn of what she might give him. He had asked before she had even offered.

"The world is a living place with constant activity everywhere, yet there is a single network which hears everything in Fiore. I speak not of the three guilds nor even the Magic Council - I am certain you have found that they cannot help you." Of course not... because they would have been the first he would have turned to. The Council knew little and what they did know, they enjoyed keeping secret. "I speak of an organization with influence in all of Fiore. They would either have or be able to find information regarding Astra." She knew it for a fact. Finding someone, with Shadow Heart's resources, would be an easy task. Instead of tracking down Astra for himself, Toma would have access to the eyes and ears of Shadow Heart.

"Not just with her, but other information and resources would become available to you. Yet the price for such power is very high," Fayte had insinuated as much earlier, but now she intended to explain just how much. "It would require you to join and commit yourself to the network as well. It is how we remain strong - with many, instead of just a few. You would be required to give back to this organization, and deal with whatever tasks they deem necessary for you. But be warned... once you have joined, there is no way of backing out." In essence, she might have very well been asking him to sell his soul. For the information he so desired, would require his willingness to serve the shadows.

She would give him to Shadow Heart and let them decide on how best to handle him. She suspected that there would be some kind of initiation test, although Fayte had bypassed it herself, since she had been involved with a sister dark guild. "Allow me to show you..." Fayte wanted to prove her words. Lifting her shirt slightly, she showed him the purple tattoo of Shadow Heart, upon the left side of her stomach. After a brief moment, she let the clothe fall again. "Fate is in your hands...." She turned, to leave... to see if he would follow... or remain behind...

Toma listened intently as Fayte spoke. In short if he wanted her organization's help, he'd have to work for them. Presumably for the rest of his life. But he found himself asking, what life did he have? He didn't know if Astra was alive or dead, realistically speaking. And well... they could help her find out. He had no clues, no leads, nothing.

And then the woman started to leave. He hesitated, staring down at his hand. Would he even get to be with Astra if he found her while working for these people? He supposed knowing she was alive and well would be good enough. There was so many unanswered questions, and they were questions normally sane people would have answered before making such a decision.

However, Toma wasn't sane right then. He was desperate to get someone he lost back. And that desperation drove him to go to great lengths to make it happen. So he clenched his fist and steeled himself before stepping forward.


"...I'm in," Toma said with a firm nod. He would follow this road wherever it took him. It would likely lead him to an end he wouldn't like. But he didn't care about any of that. He wanted to find Astra. He wanted her to tell him she remembered him. He NEEDED that acknowledgement in his life. "So what do I need to do?"

Forced into making a quick decision, it seemed that Toma had chosen the darkness. Fayte had expected as much, and now they were back to the same question - how Toma was to join. "You come with me," Fayte said simply. She had heard his name mentioned earlier; remembered it as Toma. But he did not know who she was. He was much more interested in Shadow Heart and she was simply a method to that goal; that was fine with her. Fayte knew of a particular Shadow Heart operative in Hosenka, one who might advise Toma on how to join (because honestly, Fayte was unsure of the process too).

Fayte took Toma through the darker parts of Hosenka, planning to lead him to a particular house at the edge of town. Although she was normally not one for conversation, Fayte thought that she should, at the very least, introduce herself. "They call me Fayte. I am normally a simple operative of our guild, but I decided to make an exception when I saw you..." Part of her wanted to know that this was something that she didn't normally do. Handling people as definitely not one of her strong suits. Yet at the same time, she couldn't just watch him and do nothing. "I saw your fight....." She explained, in case he hadn't quite put two and two together yet. "Do you have any other skills... any kind of magic?" Regardless of what he said, she was certain Shadow Heart could find at least some use for him. Some members lived normal lives for the most part, only serving in terms of information or other uses. But strength was heavily valued, and would likely affect his position within the guild.

Toma had merely nodded slowly when she commanded he go with her. He had nothing else to really say, at least nothing that was really safe to talk about outside. He felt like she went to great lengths to keep her ties to the organization she worked for a secret. So once they were away from a place full of people, even if they were inside because of the weather, he'd wait on really talking.

That is until she spoke to him. First she introduced herself, and he had to admit it was an interesting name. And it made him wonder just what she'd been through to get called Fayte. It certainly wasn't a name parents just thought about naming their kid. No, that'd be silly. But what did he know about good parenting techniques?

"I... er..." He began as he glanced to the side. He could lie about having magic. But then she'd ask for a demonstration, so lying wasn't going to work. That meant he had to admit to not having magic. Well, it was too late to back out now. If they rejected him, he'd be mad but, there'd be nothing he could do.

"I wasn't fortunate enough to be born with magic," Toma stated with a bitter tone and a helpless shrug. He wished he had what he didn't have, the vice of humanity. But if he had magic, he could do so much more. "So I make due with what I've got. I'm good with a blade and, as you saw, basic martial arts. It's all I can do in regards to fighting."

"...I'm Toma Hawke," He added quickly introducing himself. He felt self conscious now, what with his lack of magic. He did his best to sound confident though.

The hesitation was enough to make Fayte look at him when she asked about magic. She supposed she should have felt more alarmed when he looked away. Clearly something about the subject made him uncomfortable. But in truth, she didn't really care if he was a dragonslayer or unable to use magic. His limit was his limit; although she was certain Shadow Heart would prefer a more useful pawn. Her charge picked one of the extremes - no magic at all. Such was rare in Fiore. Maybe he wouldn't be such a great fit for Shadow Heart after all, but she supposed he would still have his uses. That was for her family to decide.

"It's not a requirement," Fayte clarified. His nervousness was hard to not pick up on. Making him feel better wasn't her priority, but understanding the truth and expectations was important. "But it would increase your chance of surviving." Yes, making him feel better would only be a lie. He was selling his soul, and there was no way around that. If he had fighting skills, Shadow Heart would want to put him in the field - with or without magic. She said nothing to acknowledge his name after he gave it. ...It was an odd name. But then, who was she to judge. Her birth name had died long ago, along with that identity. Fayte was what Master Xian Fei had named her, and that defined her core.

“The name of our family is Shadow Heart,” she finally named her mystery organization. “Like the other guilds, we take on client requests. But the jobs we take are not sanctioned by the Magic Council...” He would be entering a new life against the law, but it would only be dangerous if the Council found out about it. Enough skill could circumvent the problem completely. She figured he was smart enough to know to keep everything a secret.

Her comment about surviving had him worried. He always felt inadequate to fight other wizards and people with magically empowered weapons. Sure, he could get one himself, but he couldn't afford it. That being said, he was probably selling himself short. But it was better to over-estimate an opponent than under-estimate them. Fayte was a good example... she looked pretty average, but she could probably rip his throat out in a heartbeat.

"Shadow Heart, huh?" It was a fitting name in his opinion. Only people with deep shadows in their hearts would likely be able to do what was asked of them. Especially since she claimed they did things the guilds and Magic Council didn't look kindly upon. But did it matter if they didn't? In a way, to Toma, it did.

"It's not like they were any help," Toma shrugged, his frustration clearly visible. Though, he did manage to look relaxed and kept his voice down. "If they'd done their job, Astra wouldn't have been attacked. Her master wouldn't be dead. There would be information about her attackers. They'd have helped me find her. But they did none of that."

"So if finding Astra means helping you do things against them," Toma stated with a small shrug. His fixation on Astra might be really apparent, but he didn't seem to notice or care. "Then count me in. I can still fight if nothing else. I'm not going to die until I know she's safe and alive. I absolutely refuse to."

Fayte listened silently as Toma re-affirmed his vows. It was good that he sounded convinced now. But action spoke much louder than words. Until he was placed in a life or death situation, where his order was to kill his opponent... only then would Fayte see his true nature. His frustrations against the Magic Council were commonplace in Fiore. Plenty of Shadow Heart members had been drawn to the guild due to the Council's neglect... whether the Council had turned a blind eye accidentally or on purpose.

And of course, Fayte herself had quite the record against the Magic Council. Fortunately during her most severe encounter, she had been in a full transformation. Her harpy self and her human self looked very different, and she doubted that even Mordekai would recognize her in a casual encounter. It helped that she had nearly been killed too, so the Council had likely scratched her off on a checklist. “It's not guarenteed that we'll face them, but... it is likely.” She nodded.

She had caught part the last part of what Toma had said... Was this Astra girl even alive? He certainly seemed to think so. If anyone was going to find the truth, it would be Shadow Heart. But she did wonder what would happen if he found her dead – or if she had become a different person in his absence. Then again, that was for him to decide, and only the future would tell...

~Exit to mission thread~